Sony Z or Cowon Z2

Ok ive done a fair amount of researched and have narrowed my options down to two players.

The Sony Z series and the Cowon Z2. Whichever i pick will be bought from bhphotovideo.

My Questions are the Z series i have read in another thread but couldnt find details about how to make the Z Series support FLAC files.

If it can be done is it using a player other than the native player? If so doesnt this defeat the purpose of a sony player as the Sony app is from what ive heard better than the other downloadable android players?

Also, how big are FLAC files? i am concerned about the storage size as the sony is not expandable.

Will the Sony Power these headphones unamped or would i need an amp?

Sennheiser Momentum

Senn Amperior

Beyer DT 1350

Shure SRH 940

If im looking strictly at audio quality what out of this list of headphones and players is the best?

Ok ive done a fair amount of researched and have narrowed my options down to two players.

The Sony Z series and the Cowon Z2. Whichever i pick will be bought from bhphotovideo.

My Questions are the Z series i have read in another thread but couldnt find details about how to make the Z Series support FLAC files.

If it can be done is it using a player other than the native player? If so doesnt this defeat the purpose of a sony player as the Sony app is from what ive heard better than the other downloadable android players?

Also, how big are FLAC files? i am concerned about the storage size as the sony is not expandable.

Will the Sony Power these headphones unamped or would i need an amp?

Sennheiser Momentum

Senn Amperior

Beyer DT 1350

Shure SRH 940

If im looking strictly at audio quality what out of this list of headphones and players is the best?

Does your player need to have a screen to watch videos, etc.? If not, then there are several other cheaper options that can provide a similar SQ to both the Z2 and Walkman Z. However, if you do want the screen, then i guess the ones you mentioned are the best in the market.

How many songs are you planning on storing on the player? As you mentioned above, the Sony has a rather low storage space and probably won't fit your files if your music playlist is large. Flac files usually range from 10mB to 40mB, depending on what level of compression it is. I would go for the Cowon Z2, seeing as i've owned the Walkman Z and was quite disappointed with the android interface, although the Cowon also uses gingerbread so i'm not sure about that. Try to get one where you can return it so you can try it out and see if it's to your liking. The players are fairly on-par with each other in terms of sound quality, but the Cowon has way more features (JetEffects 5.0)

Thanks for the feedback. Video playing capabilities is definitely not a priority the only main use is going to be music

If you don't mind the player having no video capabilities then you may want to go for a different cowon product, such as the J3. It provides SQ comparable to the Z2, and can be found at a lower price (much lower). Other options include:

Colorfly c3: ATM can be had from amazon/eBay for 40 dollars, dirt cheap!

Sansa clip: Awesome SQ for its price, + rockbox = heaven

If you're willing to raise your budget you'll be in for a treat. DAPs such as the Colorfly C4 and the iBasso DX100 produces superb sound quality (albeit at a high price)

If you don't mind the player having no video capabilities then you may want to go for a different cowon product, such as the J3. It provides SQ comparable to the Z2, and can be found at a lower price (much lower). Other options include:

Colorfly c3: ATM can be had from amazon/eBay for 40 dollars, dirt cheap!

Sansa clip: Awesome SQ for its price, + rockbox = heaven

If you're willing to raise your budget you'll be in for a treat. DAPs such as the Colorfly C4 and the iBasso DX100 produces superb sound quality (albeit at a high price)

Where can I find the J3? quick check on amazon didn't find any results. also is the J3 still expandable in terms of memory?

Where can I find the J3? quick check on amazon didn't find any results. also is the J3 still expandable in terms of memory?

The J3 does support video and is supposedly pretty good at it too. I think the J3 may be discontinued though. It is expandable. I have the Cowon C2 which also is expandable. I have mine loaded with only FLAC files. I average about 3 CD's of music per 1 GB storage with FLAC. Cowon's hardware based EQ is the best there is!

The Sony Z series walkmen are very good sounding and they has line out through WM_Port to hook up with external AMPs for better soundquality and HP jack soundquality is clean detailed and powerfull enough to drive above headphones.

The J3 were discontinued not that long ago and as such, are still relatively easy to find, especially used. It comes in 16 and 32 gig versions. Both with an expendable micro sd slot. User interface is probably second only to apple products and the SQ is pretty solid for the price. Definitely better than alot of others unamped that are more expensive, at least to me. Form factor is pretty good as well. Body, not screen, is pretty prone to scratches though. It's my secondary player for days I'm lazy to carry my "I-brick" around. Hope this helps.

im curious why that is, does the line out on the sony output unamplified signal? That's the only reason I can think of being that the sony lineout sends out just the signal and the hardware of the amplifier then does all amplification whereas the cowon will output an amplified signal that is again being amplified by the amplifier which would hurt the SNR.